The University of Southern California Training Program in Genetic, Molecular and Cellular Biology will prepare students for careers in interdisciplinary biomedical research and related occupations. Throughout their doctoral training and research, trainees will interact with students and faculty engaged in research from the entire spectrum of biomedical and biological research. They may select a research mentor from at least 9 different Ph.D. programs at USC spanning the entire universe of biomedical and biological research. In their courses and Training Program activities they will interact with faculty and students from many different programs and thereby form connections which will foster interdisciplinary interactions and approaches to research. Students in the Training Program will take at least one formal course in computational methods to promote their interest in and ability to apply sophisticated computational skills to their research, either as primary or supporting technology. This last opportunity will take advantage of areas of special strength at our University to prepare students for the new emphasis on quantitative treatments of complex data sets which is becoming increasingly important in biomedical and biological research. In addition to its broad strengths in other areas of the biomedical and biological sciences, the University of Southern California has faculty groups who rank among the best in the world in the application of computational methods to the study of complex genomes and in the field of molecular cancer epidemiology. Trainees will also participate in a variety of workshops on teaching and other career opportunities. Most students participating in the Training Program will be supported by the Program during their first three years in graduate school and will continue to participate in program activities until the completion of their Ph.D. degree.